Crystal Kay

Name in Japanese: クリスタル・ケイ, くりすたる・けい

Crystal Kay was born Crystal Kay Williams on February 26, 1986 in Yokohama, the daughter of a bass playing African American father and a singing Korean mother. She began singing at a very young age, and by the age of six was recording as a vocalist for major advertising. Also as a child she attended a Diana Ross concert, where she brought Ms. Ross flowers and received a kiss on the cheek in return. While born in Japan, Crystal is an American citizen, and attended international school. While...

Crystal Kay was born Crystal Kay Williams on February 26, 1986 in Yokohama, the daughter of a bass playing African American father and a singing Korean mother. She began singing at a very young age, and by the age of six was recording as a vocalist for major advertising. Also as a child she attended a Diana Ross concert, where she brought Ms. Ross flowers and received a kiss on the cheek in return. While born in Japan, Crystal is an American citizen, and attended international school. While she has been active in the entertainment business since she was a toddler, she has not neglected her education, and is currently enrolled in Jochi University in Tokyo. Crystal Kay and Hikaru Utada have quite few things in common, and are often compared. Similarities include being native English speakers, having parents who are musicians who groomed them from an early age, R&B oriented material, debut albums which sold only moderately well, and then developing into major stars. Additionally, while both are generally considered idols, unlike many idols, they are both musical and possess strong, soulful voices. Crystal Kay was signed to Sony's Epic label while just 12 years old. She made her recorded debut July 1, 1999 with the single "Eternal Memories", and released her first album, Crystal Lover Light, in March 2000. Crystal's second album, 637- always and forever, sold respectably, reportedly near 100,000 copies. It was with her third release, Almost Seventeen, in October 2002 that she had her real commercial breakthrough, with the album going on to sell over 400,000 copies. As Crystal has grown older, her sound has progressively become more R&B, and these days she is often compared to foreign singers like Janet Jackson and Brandy. She has been very successful with her collaboration with the Japanese hip-hop team m-flo, with whom she has recorded the singles "Ex-Boyfriend" (2001), "Hard To Say" (2002), "I Like It" (2003) and "Reewind" (2003). She has also added to her exposure by working regularly as a DJ on FM Yokohama. Her "best of" album, CK5, was released in June 2004. Her single "Kiss", released in December of 2004, was used in NTT DoCoMo advertising, which helped make it a hit. Crystal's newest full length CD, Crystal Style, was released in March 2005 and went to #2 in Oricon's album chart. Her follow-up single "Koi Ni Ochitara" was featured in a popular TV drama, and went to #1. Quite a career already for someone not yet 20 years old.